ChaseElliott.com

AN ELLIOTT IN VICTORY LANE AT NORTH WILKESBORO

cindy — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:57:26 +0000

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (September 7, 2010) – People always seem to remember who won the first race at a race track. It was Lee Petty at Daytona, Joe Lee Johnson at Charlotte, Fireball Roberts at Atlanta, Johnny Mantz at Darlington.

It likely will be the same way when it comes to the reopening of North Wilkesboro Speedway. Chase Elliott will be the name forever associated with the reopening of the beloved speedway, which lay dormant for nearly 14 years before a group of local people saved the historic speedway and put it back to use.

Chase Elliott, now 14, was a week shy of one year old when Jeff Gordon won the final NASCAR race at the speedway back in 1996, a race his father also competed in. There’s another connection too. Bill Elliott’s Sprint Cup crew chief David Hyder won the last Late Model race at Wilkesboro before it was closed.

Bill Elliott won three poles at the speedway and had run strong many times but never claimed a victory.

But the Elliott family connection to North Wilkesboro is now held mostly by Chase, who scored his big win in front of an estimated crowd of 9,000, a very strong turnout for a Late Model race.

His victory garnered him national exposure including a mention on the ESPN TV broadcast of the Sprint Cup race from Atlanta to the Canadian Sirius Radio Show to print media including the NY Daily News.

Elliott got the win in similar fashion to other short track victories he’s scored this year.

He qualified second with a speed of just over 119 miles per hour. Like pole-sitter Andy Loden, he bettered the 16-year-old track record set by Ernie Irvan on April 17, 1994.

Elliott drew a nine for the invert and started the race in the ninth position. He was on the move at the drop of the green flag taking over the fourth position from Trey Mitchell at Lap 25. When he came up to the lapped car of Samantha Legendre and was passing her on the high side, something flew off of a car up ahead, bounced all over the race track and was caught by the front grill of Elliott’s Ford Fusion.

Elliott initially thought he had a flat tire, but his crew convinced him otherwise and he pressed on as the Aaron’s Dream Machine pit crew waited ready on the pit wall.

A caution came out on Lap 37 for Mitchell who blew an engine and spun in Turn Two. As much as the crew wanted to pit to work on the front nose of the Aaron’s Ford Fusion, they opted to not pit that early and give up too much track position. They needed to be within their fuel and tire window to go the rest of the way and they were not at that point. So they stayed out.

On the restart Jody Lavender again drove away from the field as Devin Jones, Ryan Blaney, Elliott and Andy Loden made up the rest of the top five. Elliott was able to get around Blaney for third and take the next lap by the flag stand before the next caution came out on Lap 36 for spins by Justin Allison and Joey Coulter.

On the restart, the battle for the second position was hot among the second-, third- and fourth-place contenders. For the next 30 laps Elliott worked to get around Jones and finally was able to accomplish that just shy of the halfway mark of the race. He was passing lapped drivers and working on feeling what the car needed when crew chief Ricky Turner, who was spotting for him, came over the radio and urged him to take the battle to the red car up ahead, the one driven by race leader Lavender.

There was still one lapped driver between them, but Elliott had something to focus on.

Caution was displayed on Lap 128 for debris. The leaders lined up to come down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. Many of the top contenders had secured specialty pit crews for this prestigious race, but the Aaron’s Pit Crew practiced in the evenings at the shop after work in preparation and felt they were ready for the challenge.

Elliott came into the pits in the second position and went out onto the track in first, winning the battle off of pit road.

“Awesome stop guys,” said Elliott over the radio as he took his position at the point of the field. The Aaron’s Dream Machine Pit Crew worked on the front grill during the pit stop and was able to pull a starter from someone’s car out of the duct work and pull the grill back out from under the car.

Elliott took the lead with Coulter, Lavender, Williams and Jones rounding out the top five. Realizing that Lavender had a fast car Elliott asked crew member Jim Barfield to start giving him lap times on Lavender so he could keep up with how fast he was making up time on him. One lap Lavender would be faster; the next they would be the same. Elliott knew he was coming.

Caution was displayed on Lap 186 when Brandon Ward wrecked in Turn Two. There would be 14 laps remaining on the restart and Elliott and Lavender led Jones, Coulter, Williams and Loden to the flag.

Lavender got the jump and took the top spot from Elliott.

“I lost sight of the flagman, I just screwed up,” Elliott said. “I still thought I had a shot after I got going.”

A spin in Turn Four by Preston Peltier reset the field once again with 13 laps to go. Elliott would not make the same mistake twice.

Elliott and Lavender ran side by side for two consecutive laps with Elliott on the outside and Lavender on the inside before Elliott finally cleared him for the lead and the victory.

“All in all, I can’t complain,” Lavender said. “I thought I had him [Elliott] but he passed me clean and got me on the high side. At the end I was spinning my tires and got sideways. I told my guys there at the end that tire conservation went out the window and I was going for the win. “Unfortunately Chase was a little bit better than us at the end.”

For young Chase Elliott it was a time to savor the moment.

“It was a day I will always remember,” he said. “When I drove my car up on the platform to hoist us into Victory Lane I was more than a little concerned because it had been so long since it had been used, but my team was there when they opened to gate to push me into Victory Lane and that was really amazing.”

Elliott will compete in the USAR Pro Cup Series event at North Wilkesboro on Oct. 3, 2010, September 11^th Elliott will race in the USAR Championship Series race No. 2 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

ELLIOTT 2010 RACE-BY-RACE RESULTS

DATE	TRACK	EVENT (SERIES)	QUAL	START	FINISH
1/31	Lanier National Speedway	SpeedFest 250 (CRA)	7	7	6
3/7	South Alabama Speedway	The Rattler 250 (CRA)	5	5	4
3/13	Gresham Motorsports Park	Season Opener(CRA 125)	5	5	2
3/20	Montgomery Motor Speedway	Show Me The Money-125	2	9	2
3/27	New Smyrna Speedway	Season Opener (Sunoco Nat. Tour)	3	5	10 (Mech. Failure)
4/4	Hickory Motor Speedway	Easter Bunny 150	4	1	7
4/9	5 Flags Speedway	Bliliozzard Race # 1	6	6	2
4/10	Mobile International Speedway	Miller Lite–Sunoco Gulf Coast Championship Race # 1	7	7	3
4/17	Gresham Motorsports Park	Track PLM Event	2	1	1
5/1	Montgomery Motor Speedway	Show Me The Money – 125-#2	5	5	1
5/14	Rockingham Speedway	Sunoco National Tour	1	1	1
5/15	Rockingham Speedway	USAR Pro Cup Series	7	7	11
5/23	Hickory Motor Speedway	CRA- Southern Six Pack series	6	6	3
5/28	5 Flags Speedway	Blizzard Race #2	4	4	1
6/5	Montgomery Motor Speedway	Show Me The Money # 3	2	2	1
6/12	South Boston Speedway	USAR	4	4	5
6/17	Berlin Raceway	CRA-Rowdy’s Revenge 251	8	8	2
6/19	Gresham Motorsports Park	Track SLM Event	1	5	10
6/25	5 Flags Speedway	Blizzard Race # 3	4	5	2
6/26	Mobile International Speedway	Miller Lite 100 Race # 3	4	1	1
7/2	Greenville-Pickens Speedway	PASS Series Firecracker 125	1	9	15
7/17	Motor Mile-Radford, Va	USAR-Heritage Truck Centers 250	2	2	8
7/26	Anderson Speedway, Indiana	CRA-Red Bud 300	5	3	10
7/30	Iowa Speedway	USAR-Blue Ox 150	N/A	13	5
8/13	5 Flags Speedway	Blizzard Race # 4	6	6	8
8/14	Mobile International Speedway	Miller Lite 100 Race # 4	1	8	1
8/21	Montgomery Motor Speedway	Show Me The Money # 5	1	3	1
8/28	Concord Motor Speedway	USAR Championship Series Race #1	6	6	7
9/4	North Wilkesboro Speedway	PASS South Labor Day Classic 200	2	9	1

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Chase Elliott tests at Bristol Motor Speedway with father

cindy — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:14:16 +0000

By Allen Gregory
Published: August 30, 2010

BRISTOL, Tenn. –

Bill Elliott was back in his element.

While rival cars powered around Bristol Motor Speedway Monday morning, Elliott devoted his attention to the No. 9 Ford.

The former Sprint Cup champion examined the engine, chatted with crew members, checked his stop watch and deftly avoided reporters. Elliott was clearly on a quest for speed with his 15-year-old son Chase.

Fourteen drivers from the USAR Pro Cup Series tested at BMS in preparation for a 200-lap race on Sept. 11.

Bill Elliott won the 1988 Valleydale Meats 500 at Bristol. The younger Elliott has heard the stories and seen the images of NASCAR’s most popular short track. He’s eager for the real thing.

“I’ve come to a bunch of races here with dad and I watched the [USAR] race here two years ago,” Elliott said. “I’ve always loved Bristol. I’m just glad to finally be able to run on this track.”

The Sept. 11 racing program at BMS has been dubbed the American Freedom Spectacular.

Action begins at 3 p.m. with a 20-lap race involving drivers from the Charger division at Lonesome Pine Raceway. The 150-lap Frank Kimmel Street Stock Spectacular follows at 3:15, with the USARacing Pro Cup feature at 5:30.

Abingdon’s Caleb Holman won the last USAR race at Bristol in 2008. Driving for the Abingdon based Henderson Motorsports team, Holman has posted three USAR victories this season.

Following a dusty path established by his father, Chase Elliott began his racing career at eight on dirt tracks in northern Georgia. He has progressed from karts and Bandoleros to Legends cars and Late Models.

Elliott admits that the jump to the bigger and heavier Pro Cup cars has been full of challenges.

“You have to roll through the corner really fast in these cars, and they are less forgiving when you get a little loose,” Elliott said. “My first race in this series was a big learning curve, but we’ve made a lot of gains and we’re still learning.”

Elliott took some advice from a master before hitting the high banks of Bristol.

“The biggest thing my father told me was to just get a handle on this place and understand what it takes to be quick,” Elliott said. “You have to get a feel for the track before you can just go hammering off.”

Early Monday morning, Elliott learned a lesson on handling the hard way.

“We cut down a tire and got up the fence a little bit,” Elliott said.

“Out stuff is pretty good and everybody that’s working on the car is doing a good job. We just need to tune on it a little bit.”

J.P. Morgan can sympathize with Elliott. The USAR regular from Charlotte said it took him several laps to adjust to the BMS thrill ride.

“This track carries so much more speed than any other track we go to,” Morgan said. “You can’t even see where you are going in the corners. You’re just listening to your spotter and hoping they are not saying that someone has spun out.”

Morgan compared the BMS experience to a trip to the Big Apple.

“Bristol reminds me of every time I go to New York City and you have to look up to see the sky because the buildings are so big,” Morgan said. “When you come to this place, you realize that you are in the ring.

“There are grandstands as far as you can see. It’s a weird feeling. I can just imagine what those Sprint Cup guys feel like when this place is full.”

For Elliott, the Bristol primer included multiple video game sessions along with a race on the famed high banks of Winchester Speedway in Indiana last year.

“Everybody says that Winchester is close to this place, and I can agree with them now,” Elliott said. “This is an awesome track, and it’s just neat to be where all Cup guys have made their mark in the history of the sport.”

As for the bright spotlight cast by his famous father, Elliott said he simply wants to follow his own fast path.

“I can only do what I can do,” Elliott said. “And I’m going to run as hard I can.”

Former NASCAR Nationwide Series competitor Clay Rogers is currently the dominant driver in USAR, which began a five-race Championship Series Saturday at Concord Speedway.

ELLIOTT PERSEVERES IN USAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES OPENER

cindy — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:31:16 +0000

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (Aug. 30, 2010) – Chase Elliott overcame a crash in practice and some misfortune in the race to score a seventh-place finish in Saturday’s Cabarrus Boys and Girls Club 250 at Concord Motor Speedway.

The 250 was the first of five USARracing championship series events, and Elliott entered the race in 19^th place in points with 98 markers to make up.

The debut of the Red Bull colors on his Ford didn’t look exactly like he had planned. Elliott wrecked in testing on Friday after only a handful of laps on the track. The team opted to repair the severely damaged rear frame as their back-up car was already prepared for a test on Monday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

So the wounded car was transported to a local shop for repair

“The men at Billy Hess’s chassis shop were great, and I just can’t thank them enough for staying late on a Friday night to bend our frame back into shape,” Elliott said.

Back at the track on Saturday, the team used two 40-minute practice sessions to get the car back up to speed, and Elliott qualified sixth with a speed of 105.553 miles per hour.

At the start of the 250, Elliott dropped three positions trying to find the best line around the track. On Lap 30 he found his groove and passed Tyler Young back for the eighth position where he remained until the first caution of the night on Lap 45. On the restart Elliott was able to get around Ryan Heavner for the seventh position. On Lap 61 Stephen Nasse took the seventh position away from Elliott who then held the eighth spot until the leader, Caleb Holman, put him down one lap on Lap 104.

Elliott raced hard and held on as the first driver one lap down. When the caution flew on Lap 125, Elliott and his team figured to take advantage of the Lucky Dog rule and rejoin the lead lap, but a tactical mistake took away that opportunity.

In the USARacing series, if a driver makes a pit stop during the caution period in which they are eligible for the Lucky Dog, the break is forfeited. Elliott’s team was not clear on the rules and made a pit stop, leaving him one lap down.

Elliott lined up to the inside with the lap-down drivers when the green flag again waved on Lap 131. When the next caution came out on Lap 144, Elliott had remained the first driver a lap down.

Again, it was decided to pit, this time for tires and with the knowledge that they would forfeit the Lucky Dog. But the hope was that they would have an opportunity once again to regain the lap. After the restart on Lap 150 Elliott raced hard with Michael Mohelski and passed him clean, but Mohelski accidentally got into the back of Elliott just after the pass and Elliott spun without hitting anything.

Still, the caution came out and he restarted in the back of the field. Elliott raced among the lapped drivers for the remainder of the race and wound up two laps in arrears.

“This weekend was just a big learning curve for me,” he said. “I’m focused on getting to the point where we can run in the top five every week, because that is what can put you in a position to win. We still have four more races to focus on that.

“I am glad that Red Bull has come on board, and I am looking forward to the last four races with them on the car.”

Elliott’s father Bill Elliott added that the entire team is in a learning mode.

“We are all learning, from how to race with these guys to the [chassis] set-ups and racing procedures,” he said. “We all have room for improvement, and that is what will focus on for the next event at Bristol.”

Elliott’s next race will be on Saturday, Sept. 4, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the Labor Day Classic 200. The PASS South Super Late Model series will bring stock car racing back to the historic speedway for the first time since 1996.

PLEASE HELP US VOTE IN – RAY COOK

cindy — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:32:36 +0000

Ray Cook is our favorite Dirt Super Late Model Driver and he is asking for our help to win the 2011 APPLIANCE ZONE SPONSORSHIP. Please Click on the photo of Ray Cook on the bottom right hand side of this home page to vote.

Ray Cook is a supporter of the Bill Elliott Driver Development Program.

ELIOTT WINS MONTGOMERY’S-SHOW ME THE MONEY #5

cindy — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:02:31 +0000

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (Aug. 23, 2010) – Chase Elliott and his Aaron’s Dream Machine crew overcame the crash of their hauler en route to the track and a late-race spin to win the fifth running of the Show Me The Money series at Montgomery Motor Speedway.

The weekend woes began when the team hauler, driven by Jacky Wade, went through the steel wire barrier and off of Interstate 85 just inside the Alabama state line during rainy, foggy weather.

Wade was unhurt and no other vehicles were involved, but I-85 was closed down to one lane for the next five and a half hours while the transporter was pulled from the median.

The hauler was towed to the track, and the team had to use a drill to open the hydraulic door but eventually unloaded the race car and got about five laps in the first practice of the day and all of the second practice.

Elliott qualified on the pole and drew a three for the invert, putting Kyle Benjamin on the pole with Bubba Pollard alongside.

When the green flag waved, Elliott passed Pollard for second and on Lap Three the first caution of what became an evening of many cautions was out. On Lap Six, Elliott passed Benjamin for the lead, after another restart on Lap 11, Elliott stretched his lead to 10 car lengths and held it until another caution flag flew on Lap 27.

The next restart saw several cars damaged, with Pollard among those hitting the wall and bringing out a red flag, which temporarily stopped the race. The restart on Lap 40 brought out yet another caution on Lap 41 with another restart beginning on Lap 46.

Elliott maintained the lead throughout and was beginning to lap slower drivers when he came up on Bill Baker III.

Elliott was passing Baker to put him a lap down but didn’t quite clear him coming out of Turn Two and ended up spinning himself. Elliott was sent to the back of the lead lap drivers for bringing out the caution.

Crew chief Ricky Turner opted to have Elliott bring the Aaron’s Dream Machine down pit road for a quick check of tire pressures and condition of the car since he was restarting in eighth place anyway.

The car was in good shape, and Elliott had 50 laps to make his way back to the front.

By Lap 83 Elliott had moved into the fourth position and was working on his chief rival Augie Grill for third, taking that position on Lap 85.

Elliott then took the battle to Jason Young for the second position and grabbed that spot on Lap 89.

Now Elliott would begin tracking down the race leader John Bolen. Once he caught him, he began working the high side and then the low side to find a way around.

Bolen fought hard as Elliott moved inside and the drivers raced side by side for two straight laps until Elliott finally won the battle and moved into the lead for the final laps of the evening, giving him his third win in five Show Me The Money races.

Chase Elliott said, “It was by far the best we have ever run down there[Montgomery Motor Speedway], it was a rough day getting over there but we are all glad that Jacky was okay and really excited that we got a win.”

Elliott’s next race will be on Saturday, Aug. 28, at Concord (N.C.) Motor Speedway in the first of five USARacing series championship events in his new Red Bull paint scheme.

ELLIOTT 2010 RACE-BY-RACE RESULTS

DATE	TRACK	EVENT (SERIES)	QUAL	START	FINISH
1/31	Lanier National Speedway	SpeedFest 250 (CRA)	7	7	6
3/7	South Alabama Speedway	The Rattler 250 (CRA)	5	5	4
3/13	Gresham Motorsports Park	Season Opener(CRA 125)	5	5	2
3/20	Montgomery Motor Speedway	Show Me The Money-125	2	9	2
3/27	New Smyrna Speedway	Season Opener (Sunoco Nat. Tour)	3	5	10 (Mech. Failure)
4/4	Hickory Motor Speedway	Easter Bunny 150	4	1	7
4/9	5 Flags Speedway	Blizzard Race # 1	6	6	2
4/10	Mobile International Speedway	Miller Lite–Sunoco Gulf Coast Championship Race # 1	7	7	3
4/17	Gresham Motorsports Park	Track PLM Event	2	1	1
5/1	Montgomery Motor Speedway	Show Me The Money – 125-#2	5	5	1
5/14	Rockingham Speedway	Sunoco National Tour	1	1	1
5/15	Rockingham Speedway	USAR Pro Cup Series	7	7	11
5/23	Hickory Motor Speedway	CRA- Southern Six Pack series	6	6	3
5/28	5 Flags Speedway	Blizzard Race #2	4	4	1
6/5	Montgomery Motor Speedway	Show Me The Money # 3	2	2	1
6/12	South Boston Speedway	USAR	4	4	5
6/17	Berlin Raceway	CRA-Rowdy’s Revenge 251	8	8	2
6/19	Gresham Motorsports Park	Track SLM Event	1	5	10
6/25	5 Flags Speedway	Blizzard Race # 3	4	5	2
6/26	Mobile International Speedway	Miller Lite 100 Race # 3	4	1	1
7/2	Greenville-Pickens Speedway	PASS Series Firecracker 125	1	9	15
7/17	Motor Mile-Radford, Va	USAR-Heritage Truck Centers 250	2	2	8
7/26	Anderson Speedway, Indiana	CRA-Red Bud 300	5	3	10
7/30	Iowa Speedway	USAR-Blue Ox 150	N/A	13	5
8/13	5 Flags Speedway	Blizzard Race # 4	6	6	8
8/14	Mobile International Speedway	Miller Lite 100 Race # 4	1	8	1
8/21	Montgomery Motor Speedway	Show Me The Money # 5	1	3	1

ELIOTT WINS MOBILE WITH STYLE

cindy — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:40:38 +0000

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (August 16, 2010) – Like teammate Casey Roderick, Chase Elliott had some adversity to overcome with this past weekend’s racing activities, but he and the Aaron’s Dream Machine Team did just that and capped off their weekend with a win at Mobile International Speedway.

Elliott also came away with the points lead in both the Pensacola and Mobile series that make up the Sunoco Gulf Coast Championship heading into the last race weekend of the summer on Sept. 24-25.

At Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola on Friday, Elliott and the Aaron’s crew struggled with a poorly handling car from the time they unloaded it. Still, he was able to improve on his practice speeds and qualify sixth for the main event.

But from the drop of the green flag, his car was a handful to drive – tight and not turning in the center of the corners and free on exit of the turns. Elliott tried different lines on the track in an effort to overcome the handling woes, but it didn’t seem to help much.

At the 50-lap break, crew chief Ricky Turner adjusted on the car, but to no avail. Elliott lost a lap to the leader Augie Grill eight laps from the checkered flag and came home with a hard-fought, eighth-place finish.

As he drove his Dream Machine to the transporter, he put the night in perspective for his dispirited crew.

“It will be alright,” he said. “We will have these nights.”

It was an entirely different story at Mobile on Saturday. Elliott and the Aaron’s Dream Machine were among the top three in practice, and Elliott qualified on the pole alongside his chief rival Augie Grill.

But a roll of the dice pit them back in seventh and eighth position for the start, with Bubba Pollard moving up to the pole.

At the drop of the green flag, Elliott worked his way around Jeff Fultz and Josh Hamner. On Lap Six he began to race with Augie Grill for position but thought better of it when he realized the frontrunners were getting away from them as they raced each other. Instead, Elliott and Grill teamed up to pass Johanna Long and then Ryan Lawler. Elliott moved into the fourth position and was fighting for third with Donnie Wilson after Grill moved around him and to the front of the pack before the halfway break.

Elliott ended the first half in fourth position.

He and the Aaron’s crew decided to leave the chassis adjustments as they were and put on two fresh tires and fuel. Their thinking was that any changes were likely to tighten the car and make it more difficult to turn.

Knowing he couldn’t afford to let Grill build too much of an advantage, Elliott went to work immediately once racing resumed. He passed Wilson on Lap 55, only to lose a spot to Fultz.

Elliott passed Pollard for third on Lap 68 and got Fultz two laps later.

Then he began tracking down Grill. Lapped traffic tended to work in Elliott’s favor, and the gap was at 20 carlengths when the caution flag flew on Lap 95 for a spin into the wall by Dale Little.

After the restart, Elliott began working Grill on the high side and then the low side but to no avail. On Lap 98, Elliott pulled up to Grill’s quarter panel coming into Turn Two but Grill held on.

On the white-flag lap, Elliott pulled as close to the rear spoiler of Grill’s car as he could and took the air off going into Turn Four. Grill got loose as he exited the corner and Elliott, never losing any forward momentum, shot to the high side and put a nose out in front of Grill coming to the checkered flag as the Mobile crowd cheered the dramatic finish.

Elliott was ecstatic at the thought of having beaten one of the toughest short trackers in the South.

“Thank you, thank you, guys,” he radioed to his crew. “I just can’t thank all of you enough.

“That was just FUN!”

Bill Elliott, who was in Michigan driving the Wood Brother’s Ford in the Sprint Cup Series, said he couldn’t have been more proud of both of his driver development teams.

“They all overcame obstacles and stayed focused,” he said. “They pulled together and made it all work, and that is what I call teamwork.

“I couldn’t be more proud.”

A FOGGY EVENING IN IOWA

cindy — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:38:59 +0000

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (August 2, 2010) – In his first start at Iowa Speedway, Chase Elliott did his best imitation of his dad, dodging a first-lap wreck just like Bill Elliott did in the Brickyard 400 the week before. Then he went on to score a top-five finish in the fog-shortened USAR Pro Cup Series Blue Ox 150.

Rains washed out the best chances for drivers to get much-needed practice on the 7/8-mile speedway, and when the skies finally cleared, USAR officials gave the teams 45 minutes of practice.

Elliott caught onto the track rather quickly and was ranked third in overall lap times.

With NASCAR’s Nationwide Series also set to race on Saturday and rain again interfering with the schedule, the starting line-up was set by car owner points, and that wasn’t the best thing for Elliott and his Aaron’s Dream Machine team as they have only competed in a few of the USAR events this season.

When the track was dried, and the cars rolled onto the front stretch, Elliott lined up in the 13^thposition in a field of 20. The green flag dropped, and for Elliott it was an almost identical replay of his father’s opening lap at Indy last weekend where he skillfully avoiding a wreck on the start. Young Elliott did likewise, taking evasive action as drivers spun in front of him. He barely clipped Steven Nasse’s car as he came down the track. Still he took his Aaron’s Dream machine to pit road where his crew checked the toe-in and cleaned the front grill.

Crew chief Ricky Turner reported that the car was in good condition and sent Elliott back onto the track. After four tries at a start, the race finally got under way with Elliott moving up to start ninth due to attrition in front of him. He was in sixth after just two green-flag laps and maneuvered around Ryan Heavner for the fifth position on Lap 10.

USAR officials threw a competition caution flag on Lap 15. J.P. Morgan was the only driver in the top five to pit, and that gave the fourth position to Elliott.

He held fourth for the next 33 laps, until the caution flag flew on Lap 50. He pitted on Lap 52 for four tires and again a lap later for fuel, which put him in position to run the rest of the race without another stop.

Excellent pit stops by the Aaron’s pit crew put Elliott back in the fourth position just behind eventual race winner Clay Rogers for the restart. Logan Ruffin got around Elliott on the restart putting Elliott back to the fifth position. On Lap 52, the caution was displayed for a blown engine in Johanna Long’s car.

When spotter Bill Elliott inquired about the car, young Elliott replied: “My car is really good. I just need to get my rhythm down and make some good lap times.”

It was then that Elliott looked down at his gauges and reported that the engine was overheating. Elliott came to pit road where the crew removed tape from the nose and cleaned the grill again. They also checked the tail pipes for water leaks that would signal a terminal problem with the engine.

Elliott went back out on the track in the seventh position and reported that the engine was cooling. Then the gauge shot back up to 260 degrees and back down to 210, so it was determined that the gauge was faulty.

By Lap 72 Elliott was back in the hunt in the fifth position and tracking down Heavner for fourth. While Elliott and Heavner were putting on a show racing for the fourth and fifth positions, Rogers was cruising at the front.

Elliott got his nose in front of Heavner for the position on Lap 113 just as the caution flag was displayed due to fog. Elliott was put back in line behind Heavner. Eight more laps were run under caution before the race was called, giving Elliott his second top five in four starts with the USAR series.

But Elliott was wanting more.

“Dang, this car was good,” he said. “I could have got [Heavner and Ruffin] on the outside, and I feel like I could have gotten the 56 [A.J. Frank] too.”

Elliott’s next event will be the fourth pair of races in the Sunoco Gulf Coast Championship at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola and Mobile International Speedway August 13^th and 14^th. Elliott currently leads the series points.

HARD KNOCKS MAKE FOR A CHARACTER BUILDING NIGHT

cindy — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:28:59 +0000

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (July 27, 2010) – Chase Elliott got some Sprint Cup type experience on Monday in the CRA Super Series Red Bud 300 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway. He got to race wheel-to-wheel with Kyle Busch, and he wound up getting a taste of how Juan Pablo Montoya felt after making a four-tire pit stop late in the Brickyard 400.

Elliott’s Anderson experience started off on a good note. His Aaron’s Dream Machine was among the top five in practice, and he qualified fifth behind pole-sitter Kyle Busch for the main event.

The invert of seven put Ross Kenseth on the pole with Elliott starting third. The leaders were lapping cars on the quarter-mile speedway by Lap 13 which made for very aggressive and focused driving by all. But Elliott was up for the task and passed Scott Hantz and Kenseth for the second and first positions respectively and built a comfortable lead by lap 29.

Meanwhile, Busch worked his way to the front, and he and Elliott were battling for the lead by Lap 43. Elliott held Busch off until Lap 52 when Busch took the top spot. It was reminiscent of another race between the two a few weeks back at Berlin Raceway.

The two continued to lap slower drivers, and by Lap 59 they were lapping Kenseth, who was inverted to the pole for the start of the race. Elliott maintained his second place position until caution was displayed on Lap 114. It was during that caution that Busch reported car problems and came into the pits, relinquishing the front spot to Elliott, who maintained the lead for the remaining 36 laps to take the checked flag at the half way point in the race.

Elliott reported to his crew at the half way break: “I am just a little bit tight in the center, and then it wants to get free with me up off.” Crew chief Ricky Turner and the Aaron’s pit crew went to work making adjustments for the second half of the race. They decided on a strategy of four tires. The teams that take the fewest tires will line up ahead of the others, and that put Elliott in the ninth position for the restart. Hantz and Van Doorn took on only two tires and Fisher, Jim Crabtree Jr., Eddie Hoffman, Rick Turner, Tommy St. John and Mario Gosselin took three tires.

This was where Elliott found himself in a similar spot to Montoya, who gave up the lead at the Brickyard to take four tires and crashed trying to overtake the drivers who took just two.

By the caution period on Lap 172, Elliott had worked his way up to seventh passing Gosselin and St. John. Campbell had car issues and parked it for the night moving Elliott up to sixth.

Several restarts worked against Elliott, as every time he passed Crabtree, the caution flew again, and he had to relinquish the spot. After several laps of position swapping, Elliott got into the back of Crabtree and was sent to the rear of the field. He restarted 16^th, but after just 17 laps was back to 11^th. A caution period on Lap 132 closed the field, and Elliott worked his way into the eighth position by Lap 255.

Elliott and Tyler Roahrig were battling hard for five laps when Elliott, for the second time of the evening, ran into a competitor and was sent to the rear of the field.

He came back again, and after starting 13^th with 33 laps remaining, worked his way into the top five.

He took the white flag in sixth position, but as he made a move that could have given him the fourth position, he was collected in another driver’s wreck and wound up finishing 10^th.

Elliott apologized to his crew for the incidents he was involved in on the track. “I’m sorry guys; I have messed this entire night up.”

He also offered apologies to the other drivers involved, telling Speed51 Radio: “I was just driving over my head.”

Young guns here at Redbud

cindy — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:16:02 +0000

july 20, 2010

Ken de la Bastide: Young guns here at Redbud

By Ken de la Bastide CNHI

Many years ago legendary Midwest driver Dick Trickle described racing at Anderson Speedway to flying a jet fighter in a gymnasium.

Next Monday the sons of two legendary Sprint Cup drivers will experience what Trickle meant first hand.

Late models turn the Anderson Speedway quarter-mile in under 12 seconds so the action can be fast and furious for the drivers as well as the fans.

Chase Elliott, the son of “Awesome Bill” Elliott will be making his first start at Anderson Speedway and will be joined by Ross Kenseth, the son of Matt, for the Welch & Wilson Red Bud 300 presented by Ed Martin Toyota on Monday.

It will not be an easy task for either driver to make it to the winner’s circle. NASCAR star Kyle Busch is returning to defend his title along with Ken Schrader, who has tons of experience at Anderson Speedway.

The event is sanctioned by the Champion Racing Association and those drivers will be looking to defend their home turf in the event.

Scott Hantz, John VanDoorn, Brian Campbell, Kenny Tweedy, Jeff Lane, Tommy St. John and Rick Turner, with sponsorship from Mitch Smith Automotive will be looking to best the NASCAR stars and the young guns.

Qualifying starts at 4:30 p.m. with an autograph session, including Bill Elliott, taking place at 6 p.m. with the race scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

The Red Bud 300 caps off a full weekend of stock car action in central Indiana. The Craftsman Truck Series and Nationwide Series will be competing at O’Reilly Raceway Park on Friday and Saturday and the Allstate 400 is set for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Another Elliott revs up career on the race track

cindy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:12:32 +0000